The Wisdom of the Elder
by grc73
Summary: Booth's grandfather comes to visit and gives Booth and Brennan some gentle words of wisdom. A little spoilerish for S5. Now complete. Rated T for some swearing and a *tiny* bit of adult stuff.
1. Chapter 1

Hello. It's been a few months since my first one. I'm having a go at another. I think this will be a two parter. I'm rather excited that Ralph Waite (who played John Walton in the Waltons) will be playing Booth's grandather, Hank.

BTW, I've had a bit of a tidy-up of ch1 so it flows a little better but the story remains the same.

Disclaimer: This is just kinda how I might like it to play out, if I owned Bones, which I don't.

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"Pops – this is Dr Temperance Brennan, my partner."

"Mr Booth?" Brennan held out her hand. "Booth-" she paused, "...I mean Seeley, has spoken about you fondly." Brennan noted that from his demeanour he seemed like a decent man. A man who had experienced many things in his life. A man more than a little like Booth.

"Please, call me Hank; and Seeley talks about you all the time. Seems like you're quite the pair!" He raised his eyebrow and his eyes flicked between the two partners. Booth blushed slightly as Brennan glanced across at him, a slight smirk on her face. The grandfather glanced across them both, noting the reaction to himself.

"Pops, can I get you a drink?" Booth asked eagerly. It didn't matter how old Seeley Booth became, his grandfather reduced him to feeling like an over-excited eight year-old, and he loved it.

"Oooh, I think I can be persuaded to have a splash of Scotch." Booth Senior smiled and broke into a gentle chuckle.

They chatted for a few minutes, during which time the partners explained their most recent case, what the squints had been up to and how Booth had recently re-learned the art of plumbing by teaching Brennan. Hank watched the interplay between the two younger adults - the bickering, the closeness - and boy, was there some sexual tension between these two! There was clearly a chuge hemistry between them, it so reminded him of the spark he had had with his wife, all those years ago. Though they had grown old together, the spark never faltered until the day she died. After a momentary feeling of deep loss which he didn't let on to the partners, he regained his inner composure with a the slightest of sighs. He still missed his wife so much.

As the conversation continued Brennan became away of just how decent a man Hank Booth was. His compassion for Booth was subtle but even she could see the love for his grandson. She felt herself warming to the older man.

Brennan excused herself to the kitchen to prepare some Mac'n'Cheese, which Booth had requested for the evening's meal. Booth loved her Mac'n'Cheese and Booth knew that his Pops would find it just as delicious. Brennan could hear Booth and Hank chatting and occasionally the conversation was punctuated by some laughter. Though she couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, they sounded very relaxed. Brennan was warmed by the thought that this was someone that made Booth happy. That made her happy. Because she cared for Booth. In an "attaboy" kind of a way.

Only when we she thought about it more deeply Brennan knew it wasn't "atta" anything. It was plain, simple but deep love. She tried to put it out of her mind, compartmentalise it as she'd grown to do with everything that might just come back to hurt her later, and tried to just focus on the situation at hand. But this situation was, in its own way, something she was falling into loving as much as everything she loved about Seeley Booth. More than she would allow herself to admit openly.

At that thought, Booth wandered into the kitchen. By this time, Brennan was stirring in the two main ingredients into the saucepan, along with some milk and a little seasoning. Booth walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder. She felt his breath on the back of her neck, which had the effect of completely arousing her. If only he knew the effect he was having, she was going to burn dinner if he didn't stop that. She closed her eyes and tried not to think of Booth's breath creeping over her entire body. To make this worse - _or better? _thought Brennan, he placed his hand on the small of her back.

"How's it going, Bones?

"Fine. It's nearly ready. Would you lay the table please?" She dared not look at him at that moment.

"Sure." Booth's hand left Brennan's back as he walked across to the cutlery drawer. She still felt the warm tingle on her spine. He didn't look up at her as he collected up the knives and forks. His hand was still shaking from touching her. "Thanks for doing this, Bones."

"It's no problem. I think your grandfather appears to be a kind and caring man and I know how much he's done for you." They made eye contact and at this point shared a smile that broke them both inside, but neither knew of the other's desperation for the other.

****

At the end of the meal, Booth stood up and stretched broadly. Brennan couldn't help but have a good look. She took in Booth's muscles, from his deltoids down to his abdominals, as he stretched. Her mind wandered to a place it shouldn't and as her eyes involuntarily began to drift further south she was disturbed by Booth yawning and Hank clearing his throat.

"I'll collect the plates."

After Booth left the room, Hank looked over at Brennan and spoke softly to her.

"Temperance, you know my grandson is in love with you; only he's driven by some misguided sense of honour where he feels he would be being inappropriate by pursuing your relationship further. But mark my words, he's in love with you, just as plain as night follows day."

He smiled at her with a glimpse of the Booth charm smile she had grown to love. Brennan felt her heart leap out of her chest for a split second, after which time her stomach turned several somersaults. _It couldn't be possible, could it? _Hank watched her expression carefully. The poor girl looked genuinely confused. On their phone calls over the previous few years Booth told his grandfather all about his partner and the difficulties she'd faced. The older man already had a lot of respect for the girl and her achievements before he'd met her and now he had, he was even more determined to ensure both his grandson's and Brennan's happiness.

"Seeley explained a little about your life." Brennan felt her defences rising and a knot growing in the pit of her stomach.

"He shouldn't have." Brennan looked away.

"I'm sorry you've had those things happen in your life Temperance, but you have a chance to experience something wonderful with my grandson. He's a good man and his feelings for you are absolutely genuine. More to the point, I am absolutely sure you love him too, but quite frankly you're so scared that he will abandon you that you that you refuse to entertain the possibility. Am I right?"

Brennan tried to process this new data. Whilst Ange had been bothering her and Booth to get together for years, her loyalty was absolutely to the anthropologist. But this, this came from a man who truly loved his grandson. Whose loyalty was to his grandson. Yet, he was still asking her to have a relationship with Booth. That meant something. But it wasn't coming from Booth himself and was therefore, just conjecture. She sighed and gave Hank a weak smile. The older man had her completely sussed. She hated psychology, but he was really good.

At that moment, Booth walked back in the room, a tea towel slung over his shoulder.

"The washing up is all done." he grinned. "Who's for another scotch?"

Brennan stood, swaying slightly awkwardly with her hands shoved in the back pockets of her jeans. "I should go. It's been really nice to meet you at last." She turned to leave.

"Bones, you won't stay a little longer?" Booth tried not to sound disappointed at her departure.

"Booth, I really shouldn't, I have a whole stack of remains to examine in limbo in the morning and I need to make an early start." Hank gave her a knowing look and his eyes, though still kindly, bored into her. After what seemed like a little too long, Hank broke the silence.

"It's been a delight to meet you, Temperance. I really hope we meet again soon."

"And you, Hank." She kissed him on the cheek. The older man broke into another Booth charm smile.

"Hey! Steady, Pops!" Booth joked, although if he was really honest, he felt a tiny flash of jealousy. Booth placed his hand on Brennan's lower back very gently and guided her to the door. He just brushed his hand up her back slightly, the feeling left him with goosebumps. As Brennan walked out the door she got about ten feet before she slammed herself against the wall in frustration.

After seeing Brennan out, Hank sat back on the couch. Booth Senior swirled the scotch around in his glass, making the ice clink as he did so. Booth stayed on his feet, stretching again.

"She's a wonderful girl, Seeley, but she's very vulnerable."

"Pops..." Booth could feel himself stiffening slightly. He truly respected his grandfather but this was a conversation he didn't want to have.

"Do you really love her, Son?" Hank looked up deeply into his grandson's eyes. Booth averted his grandfather's gaze and shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Seeley?" Another long pause. Booth shifted on the balls of his feet again like the guilty alterboy he had once been.

"Yessir." He looked down, ashamed. He knew what was probably coming next. He was right.

"Then you need to stop trying to do what is 'right and proper' and start the rest of your life with the woman you love. Now." The last word was emphasised.

A few seconds passed. Booth stood frozen, his eyes still not making contact with his grandfather's.

"What are you waiting for, Son?"


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I am so chuffed! I will be having a bit of a tidy-up of chapter 1 at some point. Nothing major, just a few little niggles I spotted that I want to sort out so the story flows better. (I need a beta...)

Just a quick point I should mention, I'm English, so some of the spelling may be slightly different to what you're used to. Just how we do it over here.

So, let's get these two kids together, with a bit of help from Booth senior...

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"What are you waiting for, Son?"

Booth looked over at his grandfather, a little boy lost expression on his face.

"Pops, I just don't think I can do this. A few years ago I told Bones I could never have a relationship with someone I worked with. I drew a metaphorical line to stop us both from getting hurt; a stupid, regretted-it-from-the-moment-it-came-out-of-my-mouth line. Time passed, things changed – for me, anyway; I nearly lost her several times, I had to watch her almost sail into the Caribbean sunset with another guy from the department..."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but she stayed." Booth managed a small smile at the memory of walking Brennan back on the quay after Sully's departure. She looked so pretty that day.

"Now it's all so comfortable, she's become my best friend. I get to see her every day, we spend so much time together and Parker's crazy about her. I'm so freaked I'm going to scare her away that I can't bring myself to tell her how I really feel. You see - " He paused for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to ease the stress he'd built up, "- she doesn't believe in love. She says it's just chemical reactions in the brain. How ever many times we talk about love in this 'skirting round the subject' way, she always says the same thing. I'm never really going to get through to her, so I take what I can get. And this is all I can get."

Hank shook his head at the younger man.

"You know, I had you pegged as a smart guy, good at reading people, but you've read this one all wrong. "

Booth looked puzzled. "I don't get it Pops, what are you seeing that I'm not?"

Hank smiled again. "Sometimes, Seeley Joseph Booth, you just don't see what's right in front of your nose. You spend almost all your waking hours together, whether you're working or not. You cook for each other, confide in each other, hell - you'd die for each other. You almost have. "And," he chuckled, "in your own words, you're 'skirting round the subject'. Doesn't that tell you something?"

Booth looked shocked. He had frankly never thought things through. Not like this. It was so obvious. Hank continued...

"She has a little trouble expressing herself sometimes emotionally, right? Hadn't you realised that extends to you, too? I watched you two tonight and there is no doubt in my mind that you two are more in love than just about any couple I've ever seen, except maybe your Grandma and me."

Seeley put his hand on his grandfather's shoulder lovingly and gently squeezed it for a moment. Hank patted Booth hand reassuringly.

"It's OK, Son." they looked at each other for a moment until the feeling of loss passed again.

"She doesn't love me, Pops, not like that, anyway."

"Oh she loves you. You really have no idea how much. All this pretense about love not being real is because she knows that once she lets you in, that's it. All this is bravado is bullshit. All this 'trying to do the right thing for the sake of your partnership' is bullshit. And that applies to both of you. I can tell Seeley, I can tell. She knows it the way you know it."

Booth's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish but nothing came out. Hank swirled his scotch about in the tumbler again.

"Can I get a little more ice, Son? All this talking has melted my ice."

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Brennan had been home for all of 15 minutes, just enough time to kick off her boots, change into the most comfortable of her t-shirts, this she favoured more than any other as Booth had bought it for her a year or so earlier. It was a Foreigner t-shirt, black and baggy, virtually down to her knees, but she loved it more than any other and it had already been washed enough times to have faded considerably. She had consoled herself with wearing it as the closest thing she was going to come to having Seeley Booth wrapped round her for the foreseeable future. His grandfather had been a lovely man, but his insights into Booth's feelings for her, or indeed, hers for him, hadn't made her feel any better. She'd waited this long and, quite frankly, if he hadn't made his move by now it was never going to happen. There was no empirical evidence to the contrary. She only dealt with empirical evidence.

Except... Brennan couldn't be absolutely sure but that one time a few weeks ago when she thought they might just kiss before the entire squint squad ruined the moment. There were other times too, when she thought that perhaps there was something there, but... she couldn't be certain enough to come to a definitive conclusion. Maybe the old man was right. Maybe there was some truth in what he said. Maybe a little, but not enough for her to get excited about. She didn't want to get 'best friends' confused with a fantasy. Or actually, fantasies. A mixture of the usual 'sex with Booth in a variety of places and positions' kind and, more alarmingly, the other kind. The kind with wedding rings and babies. She needed to put that out of her mind.

Brennan flopped in front of the television and switched it on. She tutted as a hockey game played out in front of her. "Booth..." she said out loud. Booth had persuaded her to buy the TV. Who also persuaded her to get cable so "they" could watch...

"C'mon Bones, there are the educational programmes for Parker when he visits, all that anthropological stuff you like, hey, I think there's even an anthropological channel, movies on demand so we can watch those old Clara Bow silents, and maybe just the **occasional** game of hockey or b-ball. Please?" Brennan broke into a smile remembering Booth charming her into buying the 50" plasma beast now hanging from her wall.

Her heart somersaulted again. Just pheromones right? _Just pheromones_ she confirmed to herself. Oh, who was she trying to kid? The feelings from earlier in the evening when she'd been cooking had returned. _Let's face it, those feelings have never gone away. _She'd denied it to herself for so long.

Brennan eventually flicked channels until she came across some worthy documentary about Sigmund Freud.

"I hate Psychology...and Psychotherapy!" She pointed the remote at the TV and flicked the power switch off again and headed for the bathroom.

She'd just brushed her teeth when there was a sharp knock on the door. Brennan was a little alarmed considering the time and that she wasn't expecting anyone.

Seeley Booth was standing breathless at her front door.

"Booth? What have you been doing? Why are you so out of breath?"

"Can... I... come... in .... please...?"

Brennan ushered him in and rubbed her hand on his back in a vain attempt to help him catch his breath. He stood bent over, hands on his knees, breathing deeply.

"Car... ran... out... of... petrol." he took a couple of deeper breaths. "Didn't...notice...until...too...late...had...to... run.. the.. last. twenty. blocks." He looked up at her. He was still gasping for breath a little, but now less from the exertion of running twenty blocks and rather more from the fact that it was her taking his breath away. He ran because he knew what he had to tell her. He needed to do it before he lost his nerve. _Hang on, is that the Foreigner t-shirt_? It looked so faded. She must have worn it to death. _Jesus, Pops had been right._ This was just what he needed, a sign. He took a final deep breath to steady himself, stood up straight to his full height, then reached out to grip her shoulders firmly but gently.

"Bones-" He spoke softly but suddenly the use of her nickname didn't seem appropriate any more. He moved to correct himself. "Temperance." He searched her eyes for clues to her reaction but all he could see were two deep blue pools staring back at him in expectation. Was that wonderment, or fear, or something else? At least she wasn't backing away.

"Is that the Foreigner shirt I bought you last year?"

"Yes." Brennan looked bashfully back at him.

"You've worn it a lot."

"Yes. It's my favourite."

Booth braced himself. It was now or never. He mustered his extra best charm smile.

"I love you."

"I know, in a professional, atta-girl way." She went to pull away slightly in disappointment but he held her firm. He took a hand off her shoulder and touched her chin, pulling it up gently and stepping in closer still.

"No, I lied. I wanted to tell you how I really feel but I didn't have the guts, so I qualified it with that bullshit because telling you how I really feel scares me that you're going to run away. And I don't want you to run away, Temperance." He took another step in and was virtually pressed up against her, one arm still on her shoulder, the other bringing her lips in close to his.

"You don't want me to run away" was all she could mumble back as she gazed straight into his eyes. He had rendered her virtually speechless. All she could do was use every other sense to process all of this wonderful new information. Booth continued.

"No. I want you to stay. With me. Every night. For the next fifty years or so." Between each phrase he touched her lips with his, ever so gently that the touch barely registered but it was his warm breath against her mouth that now had left her dumbstruck.

"Every night" she quietly repeated, nodding. It was all she could manage.

"Because I love you" Booth smiled.

"Because I love you." Brennan smiled back.

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Three hours later, back at Booth's apartment, Hank glanced up at his watch as he watched the baseball highlights and afforded himself a big grin. He wouldn't be expecting his grandson home tonight.

He went to fetch himself a final glass of Scotch before he turned in for the night. With Ice.


End file.
